Just plain good old advice!! Thanks for sharing and saying it...
I have spent much of the afternoon looking through listings on the MLS for my clients and have been shocked and (may I say ever so bluntly) HORRIFIED at how many pictures I saw of bathrooms with the lid up on the toilet. Okay...for many men, this is probably "no big deal"...but I actually saw one with the lid up and full of yellow pee. I know...I know...TMI...but yeeeeeeeeeeesh!
We are all professionals here...right? But...sometimes I think we get so excited about getting the listing and taking pictures...that we don't pause and look for things others may be seeing in the picture. Here are a few other things I saw in the listing photos today...all good reminders to us to make sure our pictures are the best they can possibly be for our listings...
Dark lighted pictures...where you could barely make out which room it was in the house. Turn on the lights when you take your pictures...or use a flash.
- Food on the counter tops and dishes in the kitchen sink... No-brainer on this one.
- Clothes on the laundry room floor...must we air our client's "dirty laundry" so soon?
- Peeling wallpaper.
Black light posters on the teenager's room wall. Have your clients remove or take down anything that isn't necessary on the walls so they can see their things on the wall.
Overgrown flower beds and weedy lawns... If you or your clients can't take the time to fix the yard...there's always photo shop or cropping pictures to highlight the good things.
It's not rocket science...just take clear, bright, enhancing photos that help get someone through the door. And, for goodness sake...put the lid down!
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Melissa Marro, a published artist, now turned staging advocate and national speaker speaks her mind about real estate and the home staging industry. In her 'no holds barred' approach, audience members find real answers to the industries pitfalls and learn how to overcome them with tried and true information and guidance. With marketing as her passion, she turned a small home based business into one of the nation's largest home staging and training facilities. She now operates as the CEO of First Impressions Home Staging & Interior ReDesign as well as an instructor for Staging And Resign and regularly speaks at the StagerList Expos and Real Estate Staging Association (RESA)'s trade events.
For more information on having Marro speak at one of your real estate functions, please contact her at 843.822.2622 or email at marro.melissa@gmail.com
If you would like Marro's team to provide information on staging a property in the state of South Carolina, or the Greater Charleston Area, please visit www.WeStageSC.com, email marro.melissa@gmail.com or call 843.822.2622.
I wont tell you what I saw in the toilet once while showing a home!!! I think the kids were trying to sabotage the sale!!!
Hi Melissa, I certainly agree. The lid belongs down!!!
Is it just us, are we super sensitive to the visual? Do people see this stuff and just don't care or are they just so numb to it all that they walk around with blinders on?
OPEN YOUR EYES people... and take a look around!!!!